When you buy through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
About 38 million years ago , three snake in the grass died while huddled together in what is now Wyoming . For decennium , the identity of the fossils has been a enigma . Now , researcher have revealed the snakes are a newly identify species .
The fossils were discovered in the White River Formation in 1976 , and researchers first described the snakes ' clustering behavior in a1986 report . The snakes may have been bundle for fondness and auspices over winter , before being preserved in what became the first clear evidence of reptile social behavior in the fossil record , according to astatementfrom the University of Alberta . The fossil suggest these ophidian may have been hibernating in mathematical group like modern - twenty-four hours garter snakes ( Thamnophis ) do .
Fossils form the newly discovered snakeHibernophis breithaupti. Two snakes are visible on the rock’s surface, while one is hidden underneath.
In a new study , published June 19 in theZoological Journal of the Linnean Society , scientists used high - resolutionCT scansto examine the fossil in more point .
The team concluded that the ophidian are related to forward-looking - twenty-four hours boas and go to a freshly line species , which they calledHibernophis breithaupti . Hibernophiscombines the Romance word " hibernare , " mean " to pass wintertime , " with the Greek word of honor " ophis , " meaning " serpent . " The name is a nod to the snakes ' strange societal behavior .
Related:50 - foot ' male monarch of the serpents ' may have been the biggest snake in the grass to ever live
" This is really strange for reptiles , " study co - authorMichael Caldwell , a vertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Alberta , said in the statement . " Of the almost 15,000 different kinds of reptile species live today , none of them hibernate in the way that garter snake do . "
Garter snakes , which range across North America , congregate in communal dens between October and April , sometimes traveling long distance to reach one another , according to theNational Park Service . By hibernating in cluster , the snakes stay warm when the temperature drop .
— 4 - legged ' snake ' dodo is really a unlike ancient animate being , young study claims
— Oldest fossil of a baby Snake River discovered trap in amber tomb
— uncommon and deadly albino cobra slithers into planetary house during intense rainstorm
" They ca n’t influence their trunk temperature so they need to find a way to economise as much passion as they can through the winter and they do this by form these grown masses , " Caldwell said .
H. breithauptimay have amass for the same reason , with the fossil conquer a snap of this societal demeanor just as the fauna die out . The investigator suspect the snake were caught in a pocket-size flood while they were in their wintertime den , so they were trapped and quick became encased in a fine sandlike mudstone , harmonise to the statement .
The process not only kept the animals together in a group but also keep ended , articulated underframe . This is particularly rare for Snake River because they are made up of one C of vertebra , which are easy dust .
" There are credibly , in the world ’s museum ingathering , nearly a million disarticulated snake vertebra , " Caldwell said . " They are easy to find . But finding the whole snake ? That ’s rare . "
T. male monarch may have evolved in North America after all , scientist say
Giant pterosaur were n’t only proficient at fly , they could walk among dinosaur too
The constant surveillance of modern life could decline our brain function in ways we do n’t amply understand , disturbing studies suggest
